Ecology practical: measuring abundance and random sampling

This ecology practical exercise uses random sampling to measure the abundance of various different species on an area of grassland. The resource gives learners the opportunity to explore two different measures of abundance: 

• Density: the number of individual plants per quadrat or per unit area
• Frequency: the proportion of quadrats each species occurs in

The resources are intended to help students develop skills and plant identification techniques before going out into the field, rather than to replace fieldwork.

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